Method and system for sterilizing magnetically attracted objects

ABSTRACT

A sterilizing conveyer system having a sterilizing chamber. In this apparatus, a chute brings a magnetizable article to the sterilizing chamber. An overhead conveyer has a magnet located above the conveyer and the articles are lifted up against the conveyer and moved along by it. The magnetizable articles are sterilized by a sterilizing fluid which is jetted against their bottom side as they are conveyed through the chamber. The second chute is of a length to accommodate in storage all of the articles in the system in the event of breakdown.

United States Patent 1 Pacilio 1 METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR STERILIZINGMAGNETICALLY ATTRACTED OBJECTS [75] Inventor: Joseph C. Pacilio, Niles,Ill.

[73] Assignee: Continental Can Company, Inc.,

New York, NY.

[22] Filed: Mar. 2, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 231,321

[52] U.S. C1 21/80, 53/67, 198/195 [51] Int. Cl B65b 55/06, 1365b 57/02[58] Field Of Search 21/80, 96, 56, 78, 92;

198/232, DIG. 13, 39, 195; 53/67; 221/10; 99/182 [56] References CitedUNITED STATES PATENTS 2,599,455 6/1952 Husemann 15/304 X 2,906,0729/1959 Carlson 53/67 2,923,985 2/1960 Platt 21/80 3,352,629 11/1967lverson 21/80 Schuck 21/96 Peterson 198/195 Primary ExaminerJosephScovronek Assistant Eitaminer-T. W. Hagan Attorney, Agent, orFirm-Americus Mitchell; Joseph E. Kerwin; William A. Dittmann [57]ABSTRACT A sterilizing conveyer system having a sterilizing chamber. Inthis apparatus, a chute brings a magnetizable article to the sterilizingchamber. An overhead conveyer has a magnet located above the conveyerand the articles are lifted up against the conveyer and moved along byit. The magnetizable articles are sterilized by a sterilizing fluidwhich is jetted against their bottom side as they are conveyed throughthe chamber. The second chute is of a length to accommodate in storageall of the articles in the system in the event of breakdown.

10 Claims, 6 Drawing Figures PAVIENTEDSEP 31914 MINI-'4 METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR STERILIZING MAGNETICALLY ATTRACTED OBJECTS My inventionrelates to the treatment of articles, particularly to the treatment ofarticles with a sterilizing fluid such as steam.

Prior to this time, steam and other sterilizing fluids such as ethyleneoxide have been used to render food containers and food containerelements into an aseptic condition in preparation for sealing. Thecontainer or cap element is moved along with its open side up. Steam isplayed against the bottom of the container or element and sometimesjetted downwardly into the open portion. Usually, the containers areindexed into single file, spaced equally, and pass through an enclosurehaving open ends. In some cases, the container slides along on top of afluid permeable platform and steam is passed upward through theplatform. Still others use a tower to lift up the container elements andthen introduce a swirling sterilized fluid for cleansing purposes.

It is an object of this invention to provide an improved sterilizationof container or container elements.

It is another object of this invention to provide flexibility in theapplication of time and temperature applied to a container element inorder to avoid damage to scaling compound, varnish, pigment and othermaterials which may be applied to the container or container element.

It is another object of this invention to sterilize an article withminimal mechanical damage to the article.

It is a flnal object of this invention to allow random placement ofarticles in single file against the bottom of a conveyer as the articlesare conveyed through a sterilizer.

In brief, my invention is drawn to a sterilizing and capping system.This system provides for storing sterilized articles on a sterile chuteif the capper has a stoppage. The sterilizer has a fluid permeableconveyer belt and above the belt is a magnet of sufficient strength tocause the top of each magnetizable article or container element to bepulled against the belt. The belt then moves the container element to bepulled against the belt. The belt then moves the container element alongthrough a sterilizer enclosure. A pipe with upward vents is locatedunder the belt and the steam or other sterilizing fluid is jettedagainst the bottom side of the article. Also, if required, a pipe orpipes may be located between the upper and lower run of the belt havingvents for directing sterilizing fluid in a direction so that after beingsprayed with this additional fluid, the article is completelysterilized. A hood is located about the piping and a conveying mechanismprovides an enclosure so that the super heated or saturated steam orother sterilizing medium is circulated completely about the article thussterilizing each surface of the article. Upper piping having lateralvents may be located above the lower run of the conveyer belt. Asterilizing fluid such as steam, may be jetted laterally from the upperpipe and keep the sterilizing fluid in turbulence thus insur'ing thateach part of the article is bathed in the sterilizing fluid. Thesterilized article is conveyed down a sterile chute to a capper or someother operation. This sterile chute may be used for storage of sterilearticles under appropriate cicumstances.

The invention will be more completely understood by reference to thefollowing detailed description which is to be read in conjunction withthe appended drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagramatic view of a sterilizing-capping system.

FIG. 2 is a detailed showing of an embodiment of my sterilizer.

FIG. 3 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 3-3 of FIG.2.

FIG. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 44 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 5 is a transverse sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of FIG.2.

FIG. 6 is a diagramatic view of a sterilizing and capping system forfood products having a highly acid content.

The system shown in FIG. 1 may be used for a variety of purposes. Whilethe sterilizer 1 is shown feeding a capper 2, it is to be understoodthat the next step after the sterilizer may be a filler, capper, sprayapplicator or other operation without altering the scope of myinvention.

A hopper 3, shown at the upper hand corner, stores articles which are tobe sterilized and passed on to the next operation. These articles may bestored in a hopper or in any one of a variety of ways which form nobasic part of this invention. A feed slide 4 is shown adjacent thehopper and leads from it so that articles to be sterilized may beconveyed from the hopper toward the entrance 5 of the sterilizingenclosure 6. Near the bottom 7 of the feed slide 4 and adjacent to thesterilizer enclosure is an automatic cap stop mechanism 8 which providesa retractable locking element 9. The normally retracted locking element9 may be automatically positioned to stop the flow of articles into theenclosure. A slide 4 or some other type of conveyer may be used asdesired.

The article then enters the sterilizer 1. While in the sterilizer, thearticle is freed of undesirable bacteria. The article is conveyed alongthe length of the sterilizer to the next chute which is a sterile feedslide 10 or sterile conveyer. The sterile feed slide may be used forstorage. A cover 11 is mounted over this slide to prevent contaminationof the articles. An article slides down this chute 10 until it comes tothe capper 2. Capper 2 has steam inside it at a desired temperature orhas a sterile gas which keeps an item or an article in a sterilecondition.

FIG. '1 further shows the electrical control system of my invention. Onthe slide 4 in front of the cap stop arrangement 8 is a first sensor 12.Sensor 12 may be photoelectric or of some other type sensor whichoperates at high temperature and which senses the passage of caps andemits a signal. The sensor 12 is electrically connected to an input pole13 of an up-down counter 14. An output pole 15 of the up-down counter 14is electrically connected to the cap stop mechanism 8. An output lead 16is connected from the capper switch bow 17 to the capper motor 18. Anoutput lead 19 is connected from an output terminal 20 of the up-downcounter controller to an input terminal 21 of the capper switch box 17.Caps as they pass out of the capper 2 are sensed by a proximity probe 22(second sensor) which is electrically connected to an input terminal 23of the up-down counter control 14.

The up-down counter 14 is of the sort sold as a Counter Controller Model6CE78 or Model (E78 by Hyde Park Electronics, Dayton, Ohio. The capperswitch box 17 is a standard motor starter switch such as is sold bySquare D Co. of Milwaukee, Wisconsin or Allen Bradeley Co. of Milwaukee,Wisconsin.

The operation of this device is summarized as follows:

The counter 14 is set to the required number of caps desired in thereserve area 10. The reserve area is defined as the area between theinput to the capper 2 and the discharge from the sterilizer. At thispoint, the counter 14 generates a signal which opens an automatic capstop 9 and allows some of the caps above this cap to be conveyed or fedinto the sterilizer 1. A predetermined number of caps (cap reserve) isset as an upper limit on the up-down counter. When this number istallied by the first sensors signal 12 and is registered on the up-downcounter, then the automatic cap stop 9 is actuated to prevent furtherpassage of caps past the automatic cap stop. The capper 2 is nowstarted. Each cap which passes through the capper 2 is placed on a jaror bottle and leaves the capper on the right hand side as shown inFIG. 1. Each cap is identified and is counted by the signal from thesecond sensor 22. When each cap passes the second sensor, the up-downcounter registers a low count. That is to say, the number recorded onthe up-down counter is diminished by one. After some predeterminednumber of caps pass the second sensor 12, the cap stop mechanism opensto allow the proper number of caps to pass the automatic cap stop 9 andthus maintain the predetermined cap reserve in the cap reserve area I0.

Under some conditions, thecapper may be running and the second sensormay not detect any further flow of caps for a predetermined period oftime. When this happens, the capper is stopped. A time delay switch orsimilar device is in the circuit of the second sensor and its electricalconnection to the capper switch box so that a cessation of flow of capsbrings about a stopping of the capper motor after a predetermined periodof time passes.

The up-down counter controller may also be set for a minimum cap levelrequired for proper feeding of the capper. In this way, when the capreserve decreases below this minimum level, the capper itself is turnedoff to avoid eventual uncapped jars.

The length of the sterile storage chute is critical. A breakdown of thecapper may cause the hopper feed gate 24 to close and the automatic capstop to rise thus preventing further caps from being fed into thesterilizer. The sterilizer operates continuously and those caps whichare in the sterilizer move through the sterilizer and slide down thesterile feed slide. Thus, the length of the sterile feed slide 10 issuch as to accomodate those caps or articles which are on the sterilefeed slide at the time of the capper breakdown plus those articles whichmay be in the sterilizer during this time and which are moved throughthe sterilizer during the sterile feed slide. If the breakdown of thecapper 2 lasts long enough, the contents of the sterilizer l and thesterile feed slide 10 are conveyed to the lower portion of the sterilefeed slide for storage. In this way, when the capper 2 becomes operativeagain, there is no crowding of the articles on the feed slide, thesterilizer or the sterile feed slide. This is because exactly the samenumber of caps (cap reserve) are present along the length of the systembelow the cap stop 9 as there were during the operative phase of thecapper. When the capper 2 becomes operative, the automatic cap stop 9 iswithdrawn to allow the caps to proceed into the sterilizer l, the feedgate 24 opens, and the capper 2 starts using the caps accumulated on thesterile feed slide 10. When the capper becomes operative and apredetermined number of capped jars passes the proximity probe, thecounter withdraws the automatic cap stop and caps feed into the system.In this embodiment, the sterile storage feed slide 10 must be of suchlength as to accommodate the caps that may be in the sterilizer l and onthe sterile feed slide 10 at the time of capper breakdown or other workstoppage.

A similar problem presents itself in the event of capper breakdown wherethere is no automatic cap stop and no electric feed gate for closing offthe cap feed when there are uncapped containers discharging from thecapper. In this embodiment, the sterile storage feed slide must be ofsuch length as to accomodate the caps that may be in the sterilizer andon the sterile feed slide at the time of capper breakdown or other workstoppage.

A similar problem presents itself in the event of capper breakdown wherethere is no automatic cap stop and no electric feed gate for closing offthe cap feed when there are uncapped containers discharging from thecapper. In this embodiment, shown in FIG. 6, the length of the sterilestorage chute is not of a length to accomodate all caps in the sterileslide.

According to the arrangements set forth above, when the capper starts tooperate again, the caps which have accumulated on the sterile storageslide are used by the capper and a new supply of caps starts slidingdown the sterile storage slide. Just as the last of the storage capshave been used by the capper, the fresh supply becomes available to thecapper and it continues operation without pause.

Because of the nature of the sterilizer as shown in FIG. 1, each capmust be in the sterilizerand exposed to the sterilizing fluid for a timeand temperature which may range as high as 600F. If it stays in thesterilizer for a longer time, the cap itself may deteriorate because theplastic inside the cap is rendered molten to where it drips from the capand the sealing feature of the cap is destroyed and the sealing cap isuseless. Also, varnish, lithography and other coatings would be harmed.On the other hand, if each cap does not stay in the sterilizer for apredetermined time and temperature as required by the product being run,it is not sterilized because exposure to steam or superheated steam at agiven temperature for at least a predetermined time is necessary tosterilize a cap. Curves have been developed showing the length of timeand temperature necessary for complete bacterial destruction. Thesecurves are known to be a combination of time and steam temperature. Thepatent to McConnell et al., US. Pat. No. 3,042,533, issued July 3, 1962,shows such curves for ethylene oxide and propylene oxide. For the reasonthat all articles, such as caps, must have a particular time-temperaturecombination, any caps that are upstream of the sterilizer or in thesterilizer must be passed through the sterilizer at the given time andtemperature and then stored on the sterile storage slide. The sterilizercontinues to operate at a constant rate and maintains constantconditions.

The sterilizer itself appears externally as an elongated enclosure 6having insulated sidewalls 25, top 26 and bottom 27 (FIGS. 2, 3 and 4).At each end of the enclosure is an opening 28 of suitable size toaccomodate whatever articles are being passed through the sterilizer. Inthe sterilizer, the pressure is kept slightly above atmospheric at alltimes. The above atmospheric pressure is about equal to one half inch ofwater pressure which keeps possible airborn contaminants from enteringthe sterilizer. A Sani-Grid endless chain or belt 30 is mounted aboutsprocket wheels. This chain is a ladder like conveyer belt manufacturedby Cambridge Wire Cloth Co., of Cambridge, Md.

The Sani-Grid chain 30 (FIG. 5) has elongated lateral segments 31 orrungs extending across the plane of the belt. Links 32, 33 formlongitudinal connecting elements between the lateral elements. The links32, 33 are fastened to the lateral segments 31 in such a manner thateach lateral segment 31 is free to move about the adjacent lateralsegment 31 and remains parallel to and at a constant distance from theadjacent lateral segment. This allows a continuing chain to be movedabout the sprocket wheels 34, 35. Each lateral segment 31 is preferablya rod and the rods are spaced from each other by a distance severaltimes the rod diameter so that the sterilizing fluid has free passagethrough the lateral segments to the article being sterilized. Inpractice, the inter-rod distance is at least three times the roddiameter. The Sani-Grid" chain 30 used in my apparatus is made ofaseries of U-shaped members 31, 23, 33 with the base 31 of the U beingseveral times the length of the upright elements 32, 33. The uprightelements 32, 33 are turned inward and attached to the base 31 of anotherU-element to form an articulated chain or flat conveyer chain belt.

One sprocket wheel 34 assembly (FIG. 2) is located near to and above theentrance of the enclosure. The other sprocket wheel assembly 35 islocated near to and above the exit 28 to the enclosure. A Sani-Grid belt30 is an articulated ladder of the sort shown in FIG. 2. Since the rungsof the ladder flt into the teeth 36 of the rotatable sprocket wheels,the speed of operation of the conveyer belt 30 is easily controlled bythe speed of rotation of the end sprocket wheels. Thus, duration ofsterilizing exposure within the sterilizer is exactly controlled foreach cap. Located just above the lower run 37 of the belt between theupper run 38 and lower run 37 is a long magnet 39. This magnet 39extends from near one end of the run to near the other end of the run.The Sani-Grid conveyer can be made of a nonmagnetic material, such asbrass, for example. The apparatus also works if the Sani-Grid conveyeris made of a magnetizable material.

Now the conveying system of the sterilizer 1, shown in FIGS. 1-6,operates in the following fashion. An article to be sterilized slidesdown the feed slide 7 and approaches the up stream end of the Sani-Gridbelt. The article must be of a magnetizable material in order to passthrough the sterilizer 1 since when it comes into the proximity of theconveyer belt, it is pulled upward against the belt by the magnet 39.The magnet 39 is of about the same strength from one end to the otherand the article is held against the belt. Since each lateral segment 31on the belt is round in countour, its contact with the top of the cap,for example, is a straight line. The cap is carried by the belt 30toward the exit 28 from the enclosure 6 and it is there stripped off ofthe belt by a stripper element 40 and falls onto the conveyer chute 10.The magnets strength may be diminished at the exit end to allow thearticles to disengage easily from the conveyer. Since the belt 30 movesthe cap along without any sliding action between the belt and the cap,there is no damage to tin plate or coating on top of the cap. The belt30 is several times the width of a cap in order to accomodate any sizecap. The caps do not necessarily go through the sterilizer in singleflle even though there is only a single jet of steam coming upward.Guides 41, 42 (FIGS. 3 and 4) may be placed on each side of the centerpath of the belt in order to arrange the caps in a single file if suchan option is desired. Indexing and spacing of the caps relative to eachother is not necessary or helpful in this invention. The sole criterionof sterilization is temperature-time spent within the sterilizer 1.Since each cap no matter what its position on the belt passes over thecenter line of the vents 43 in the sterilizer steam pipe 44, steam ofidentical temperature and for the same duration of time treats each capprocessed through the sterilizer with the same amount of sterilizingmedia. The Sani-Grid chain 30 is used because (I) it is an open typechain; (2) it may be positively driven by sprocket drive and (3) it hasplenty of gap space between lateral elements of the chain or belt forsteam or other sterilizing media to approach and contact the top of thecap or whatever article is being sterilized since the chain itself hasonly two or three hairline contacts with each cap and good circulationof steam or possible condensate. It is understood that any belt isacceptable so long as it has the characteristics of ready cleaning andsanitizing, line contact area, low opposition to passage of sterilizingfluid through it, adaptability for sprocket drive and passage ofmagnetic flux to a degree necessary for holding articles in tractivecontact with the belt so that the article can by moved from one end ofthe sterilizing enclosure to the other.

Steam distributing pipe 44 is located under and spaced from theSani-Grid belt. On the top surface of the pipe are a series of vents 43arranged down the length of the pipe. The vents 43 are arranged so thatthe sterilizing media jetted from each vent overlaps the media jettedfrom adjacent vents. Each cap is continuously bathed with thesterilizing media. A sterilizing fluid, such as super heated steam, isjetted out of these pipes through the vents 43 and flows upwardly toimpinge against the downwardly facing caps. Since the steam 45 is movingupwardly, its tendency is to stay up inside the cap. Thus, its contactinside the cap is of a more intimate and thorough nature then is thecase where steam jets downwardly and tends to escape from an opencontainer. In this fashion, each cap or other article which is conveyedby the grid is exposed to live steam from beginning to end. A key factin this type of sterilizer is that whichever article is passed throughthe sterilizer should be oriented with its open side down and, ofcourse, must be a metallic or at least a magnetizable article. It isheld against the Sani-Grid conveyer 30 with sufficient force so that thetractive effect between the grid and the top surface of the cap is largeenough to cause the cap to move with the Sani-Grid belt.

Upper sterilizing fluid piping 46, 47 may be mounted above the conveyerso the sterilizing fluid can be sprayed down onto the top and sides ofthe article. This option is shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4 in phantom lines.

The upper sterilizing piping has vents 48 along its length directingsterilizing fluid toward the caps.

As pointed out in the paragraphs above, the endless belt 30 is widerthan any cap size and for this reason may accomodate two or more caps.Two or more lines of caps positioned laterally to each other may beaccomodated on the endless belt. This would require one lower pipe foreach line of caps. Additional upper pipes may be added for reasons setforth in the above paragraph.

The adjustable guides 41, 42 may be positioned relative to each other sothat only a single file of caps passes along the belt. In this way, asingle file of caps may be positioned directly over the lowersterilizing fluid pipe. Of course, the guides may be spaced toaccomodate any number of files of caps. inverted cans, or other articleson the endless conveyer belt.

The sterilizer l of FIG. 2 is shown in level position. However, it isreadily appreciated that it is within the scope of this invention forthe sterilizer to be level or at an angle such as shown in FIG. 1. Ifthe system is level, then the supply chute 4 and sterile feed slide maybe a power conveyer to provide motive force.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is an adaptation of the embodiment ofFIG. 1. This adaptation is designed for use in sterilizing articles attemperatures of about 200250F to destroy certain molds and yeasts. Inthis embodiment, a hopper motor 49 is shown attached to the dispensinghopper 3. A second motor 50 is shown attached to or adjacent to thesterilizer to drive the sterilizer conveyer belt. The drive isaccomplished by chain or pulley drive 51 between the motor and thesprockets located at each end of the Sani-Grid belt or chain. A thirdmotor 52 which drives the capper operation is shown. Sensor means 53, 54are shown mounted adjacent the covered slide and at spaced intervals upthe slide from the capper. A first sensor means 53 is located a shortway up the slide from the capper machine. The second sensor 54 islocated a further distance up the slide from the capper machine. Thesesensors are of the type which detect the passage of a metal object. Eachof these sensors has a time delay mechanism either in the sensor or itmay be incorporated in the control box so that a single cap sliding bythe sensor will not actuate the control mechanism. However, a series ofcaps which back up from the capper past the first sensor then cause thefirst sensor to actuate the control mechanism. However, in order tocause hopper motor 49, sterilizer motor 50 and capper motor 52 to stopoperation, both the first and second sensor means 53, 54 must have aback up line of caps adjacent to them. The back up line of caps actuatesboth sensors and the control circuit 55. This causes the hopper motor,sterilizer motor and the capper motor to stop.

After the malfunction has been located and the capper 2 is startedagain, the line of caps begins to feed into the capper. After both thesensors are uncovered or after the line of caps has receded down underboth sensors, then the hopper motor 49 and the sterilizer motor 50 areautomatically started and caps start passing out of the sterilizer 1where they have been stored during the breakdown period. Because thetemperature in the sterilizer is about 250F only, the caps in thesterilizer have not been damaged no matter for what duration of timethey may stay in the sterilizer. Finally, the sterilizer and hoppermotor 49, 50 speeds equal the speed of the capper and the machine isback in its normal running condition.

Among the advantages of this invention are the following: A varying loadmay be passed through the system, a more complete sterilization of theinside and outside of the article, fewer degree seconds are requiredbecause of temperature and time controllability and provision foranti-jamming features.

Further, time and temperature is controlled for sterilizing caps attemperatures under about 250F. However, a simplified system of controlduring a jammed condition can be used (see FIG. 6). This is because alower temperature may be used for this type product. The lowertemperature allows the total system to be shut down. Those capsremaining in the sterilizer for any period of time are not harmed.

The foregoing is a description of the illustrative embodiments of theinvention, and it is applicants intention in the appended claims tocover all forms which fall within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation comprising:

a first conveyor means for conducting elements to a sterilizer;

a second fluid permeable conveyor means in a sterilizer having magnetsabove said second fluid permeable conveyor means for holding saidelements against the underside of said second conveyor means wherebysaid elements may be completely sterilized;

a third conveyor means for conducting said elements from said secondconveyor means to another point;

stripper means for peeling elements from said second means and allowingthem to fall upon said third conveyor means;

apparatus adjacent said third conveyor for performing an operation onsaid container elements;

malfunction detecting means located downstream of said apparatus fordetecting malfunction of said apparatus and generating a signal uponsaid detection;

container elements stop means mounted adjacent said first conveyor meansfor halting the passage of container elements past said containerelement stop means when the appropriate signal comes from saidmalfunction detecting means; and

signal transmitting means for transmitting a signal from said detectingmeans to said container element stop means.

2. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim 1 in which saidcontainer element stop means comprises:

a first means located at the juncture of said first conveyer means andsaid second conveyor means for halting the progress of containerelements from said first conveyer means to said second conveyer means.

3. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim 1 in which saidcontainer element stop means further comprises:

a gate means located at the bottom of a hopper located adjacent saidfirst conveyer means for regulating feed of container elements from saidhopper onto said first conveyer means.

4. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim 2 in which:

said third conveyer means is of such length that the container elementson the second and third conveyor means have adequate storage space onsaid third conveyer means when said apparatus for performing anoperation stops and until said apparatus resumes functioning.

5. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim 3 in which:

said third conveyer means is of such length that the container elementson the first, second and third conveyer means have storage space on saidthird conveyer means until said apparatus resumes functioning.

6. Treatment apparatus comprising:

a fluid permeable conveyor belt for conveying an article and having afirst and a second end;

a first means for jetting a sterilizing fluid upward mounted below saidconveyor;

magnet means mounted above said conveyor and extending at least part wayalong the length of said conveyor;

an enclosure having an entrance near the first end of said conveyor andan exit near the second end of said conveyor and extending around saidconveyor, said fluid jetting means and said magnet whereby said articleis held against said conveyor by magnetic attraction and saidsterilizing fluid is jetted upward against the bottom of said articlesand said enclosure provides a means for constraining said sterilizingfluid within said enclosure to allow said sterilizing fluid to bathesaid article completely;

a second means for jetting a sterilizing fluid downwardly toward saidfluid permeable conveyor belt and through said fluid permeable conveyorbelt to impinge upon the top and sides of said article which is carriedby said belt;

sprocket means at said first and second end of said enclosure forsupporting and driving said conveyor belt;

a motor for driving said fluid permeable belt; and

means for connecting said motor to said sprocket means whereby operationof said motor causes said belt to travel sychronously with said motor;

apparatus for performing an operation on said article having an entranceand an exit;

a first conveyor means for conducting articles from a hopper to saidentrance of said enclosure;

a second conveyor means for conducting articles from the exit of saidenclosure to said apparatus;

a sterile conveyor means for conducting articles upon which an operationhas been performed from said apparatus;

first sensor means located adjacent said first conveyor means forcounting articles as they pass down said first conveyor means;

second sensor means located downstream of said apparatus for registeringa count each time an article passes said sensor;

article stop means on said first conveyor means for stopping saidarticles on said first conveyor means when said article stop means isactuated; and

circuit means for registering each article which passes down said firstconveyor means, subtracting each article which passes said second sensormeans and controlling the number of articles on the conveyor means abovesaid apparatus by stopping and starting said first and second conveyormeans and said article stop means.

7. Treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 6 comprising further:

a hopper for passing articles to said first conveyor means;

a feed gate mounted on said hopper for controlling the passage ofarticles from said hopper to said first conveyor means; and

electrical conducting means connecting said circuit means to said feedgate whereby said feed gate opens when the number of articles in saidfirst, second and third conveyor means is less than a set number andsaid feed gate closes when the number of articles on said conveyor isgreater than a set lesser second number.

8. A system for conveying container elements to,

through and from a sterilizer to a second processing apparatus and fromsaid operation comprising:

a first conveyor means for conducting articles to a sterilizer;

a second fluid permeable conveyor means in a sterilizer having magnetsabove said second conveyor means for holding said articles against theunderside of said second conveyor means whereby said articles may becompletely sterilized;

a first motor for causing said second conveyor to operate to convey saidarticles through said sterilizer;

apparatus for performing an operation on said container elements andhaving an entrance, an exit;

a second motor for operating said apparatus for performing an operationon said container elements;

a third conveyor means for conducting said elements from said secondconveyor means to the entrance of said apparatus;

a first sensor for sensing the presence of container elements andlocated on said third conveyor near said apparatus;

a second sensor for sensing the presence of container elements andlocated on said third conveyor at a point more remote from saidapparatus than said first sensor whereby container elements which havenot been used by a capper back up to said first and second sensor andare detected; and

control circuit means electrically connected to said first motor, saidfirst and second sensors, and said second motor for stopping said firstand second motors when container elements back up to said first andsecond sensors.

9. A system for conveying container elements to,

through and from a sterilizer to and from another operation as set forthin claim 8 further comprising:

a hopper for dispensing container elements to said first conveyor;

a third motor mounted on said hopper for causing the hopper to dispensecontainer elements onto said first conveyor when said hopper motor isactuated; and

electrical means for connecting said third motor to said control circuitwhereby said third motor stops when container elements back up to saidfirst and second sensors and when said apparatus motor is restarted thelevel of container elements falls below said second sensor and then whensaid level of container elements falls below said first sensor saidfirst and third motors automatically restart and container elements arefed out of the sterilizer onto the second conveyor and the systemresumes normal operation.

10. A system for conveying container elements to,

through and from a sterilizer to and from another operation as set forthin claim 8 in which said second fluid permeable conveyor meanscomprises:

a perforated endless belt in said sterilizer;

said second motor.

1. A system for conveying container elements to, through and from asterilizer to another operation comprising: a first conveyor means forconducting elements to a sterilizer; a second fluid permeable conveyormeans in a sterilizer having magnets above said second fluid permeableconveyor means for holding said elements against the underside of saidsecond conveyor means whereby said elements may be completelysterilized; a third conveyor means for conducting said elements fromsaid second conveyor means to another point; stripper means for peelingelements from said second means and allowing them to fall upon saidthird conveyor means; apparatus adjacent said third conveyor forperforming an operation on said container elements; malfunctiondetecting means located downstream of said apparatus for detectingmalfunction of said apparatus and generating a signal upon saiddetection; container elements stop means mounted adjacent said firstconveyor means for halting the passage of container elements past saidcontainer element stop means when the appropriate signal comes from saidmalfunction detecting means; and Signal transmitting means fortransmitting a signal from said detecting means to said containerelement stop means.
 2. A system for conveying container elements to,through and from a sterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim1 in which said container element stop means comprises: a first meanslocated at the juncture of said first conveyer means and said secondconveyor means for halting the progress of container elements from saidfirst conveyer means to said second conveyer means.
 3. A system forconveying container elements to, through and from a sterilizer toanother operation as set forth in claim 1 in which said containerelement stop means further comprises: a gate means located at the bottomof a hopper located adjacent said first conveyer means for regulatingfeed of container elements from said hopper onto said first conveyermeans.
 4. A system for conveying container elements to, through and froma sterilizer to another operation as set forth in claim 2 in which: saidthird conveyer means is of such length that the container elements onthe second and third conveyor means have adequate storage space on saidthird conveyer means when said apparatus for performing an operationstops and until said apparatus resumes functioning.
 5. A system forconveying container elements to, through and from a sterilizer toanother operation as set forth in claim 3 in which: said third conveyermeans is of such length that the container elements on the first, secondand third conveyer means have storage space on said third conveyer meansuntil said apparatus resumes functioning.
 6. Treatment apparatuscomprising: a fluid permeable conveyor belt for conveying an article andhaving a first and a second end; a first means for jetting a sterilizingfluid upward mounted below said conveyor; magnet means mounted abovesaid conveyor and extending at least part way along the length of saidconveyor; an enclosure having an entrance near the first end of saidconveyor and an exit near the second end of said conveyor and extendingaround said conveyor, said fluid jetting means and said magnet wherebysaid article is held against said conveyor by magnetic attraction andsaid sterilizing fluid is jetted upward against the bottom of saidarticles and said enclosure provides a means for constraining saidsterilizing fluid within said enclosure to allow said sterilizing fluidto bathe said article completely; a second means for jetting asterilizing fluid downwardly toward said fluid permeable conveyor beltand through said fluid permeable conveyor belt to impinge upon the topand sides of said article which is carried by said belt; sprocket meansat said first and second end of said enclosure for supporting anddriving said conveyor belt; a motor for driving said fluid permeablebelt; and means for connecting said motor to said sprocket means wherebyoperation of said motor causes said belt to travel sychronously withsaid motor; apparatus for performing an operation on said article havingan entrance and an exit; a first conveyor means for conducting articlesfrom a hopper to said entrance of said enclosure; a second conveyormeans for conducting articles from the exit of said enclosure to saidapparatus; a sterile conveyor means for conducting articles upon whichan operation has been performed from said apparatus; first sensor meanslocated adjacent said first conveyor means for counting articles as theypass down said first conveyor means; second sensor means locateddownstream of said apparatus for registering a count each time anarticle passes said sensor; article stop means on said first conveyormeans for stopping said articles on said first conveyor means when saidarticle stop means is actuated; and circuit means for registering eacharticle which passes down said first conveyor means, subtracting eacharticle which passes said second sensor means and cOntrolling the numberof articles on the conveyor means above said apparatus by stopping andstarting said first and second conveyor means and said article stopmeans.
 7. Treatment apparatus as set forth in claim 6 comprisingfurther: a hopper for passing articles to said first conveyor means; afeed gate mounted on said hopper for controlling the passage of articlesfrom said hopper to said first conveyor means; and electrical conductingmeans connecting said circuit means to said feed gate whereby said feedgate opens when the number of articles in said first, second and thirdconveyor means is less than a set number and said feed gate closes whenthe number of articles on said conveyor is greater than a set lessersecond number.
 8. A system for conveying container elements to, throughand from a sterilizer to a second processing apparatus and from saidoperation comprising: a first conveyor means for conducting articles toa sterilizer; a second fluid permeable conveyor means in a sterilizerhaving magnets above said second conveyor means for holding saidarticles against the underside of said second conveyor means wherebysaid articles may be completely sterilized; a first motor for causingsaid second conveyor to operate to convey said articles through saidsterilizer; apparatus for performing an operation on said containerelements and having an entrance, an exit; a second motor for operatingsaid apparatus for performing an operation on said container elements; athird conveyor means for conducting said elements from said secondconveyor means to the entrance of said apparatus; a first sensor forsensing the presence of container elements and located on said thirdconveyor near said apparatus; a second sensor for sensing the presenceof container elements and located on said third conveyor at a point moreremote from said apparatus than said first sensor whereby containerelements which have not been used by a capper back up to said first andsecond sensor and are detected; and control circuit means electricallyconnected to said first motor, said first and second sensors, and saidsecond motor for stopping said first and second motors when containerelements back up to said first and second sensors.
 9. A system forconveying container elements to, through and from a sterilizer to andfrom another operation as set forth in claim 8 further comprising: ahopper for dispensing container elements to said first conveyor; a thirdmotor mounted on said hopper for causing the hopper to dispensecontainer elements onto said first conveyor when said hopper motor isactuated; and electrical means for connecting said third motor to saidcontrol circuit whereby said third motor stops when container elementsback up to said first and second sensors and when said apparatus motoris restarted the level of container elements falls below said secondsensor and then when said level of container elements falls below saidfirst sensor said first and third motors automatically restart andcontainer elements are fed out of the sterilizer onto the secondconveyor and the system resumes normal operation.
 10. A system forconveying container elements to, through and from a sterilizer to andfrom another operation as set forth in claim 8 in which said secondfluid permeable conveyor means comprises: a perforated endless belt insaid sterilizer; a first pulley mounted near the entrance of saidsterilizer; a second pulley mounted near the exit of said sterilizerwhereby said belt extends around said first and second pulley to formhaving an upper and a lower reach; and an elongated magnet extendingbetween the first and second pulley and lying just above the lower reachof said belt whereby said container elements are pulled against saidlower reach of said belt and move along with said endless belt as it ismoved by said second motor.